HC Deb 18 May 2004 vol 421 cc906-7W
Mr. Sheerman

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which banks administer career development loans. [173825]

Mr. Ivan Lewis

The banks presently involved in administering career development loans (CDLs) are, Barclays Bank plc, the Co-operative Bank plc and the Royal Bank of Scotland plc. Clydesdale Bank plc also administered CDLs until 15 October 2002.

Mr. Sheerman

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what criteria are used to decide whether an application for a career development loan should be accepted. [173826]

Mr. Ivan Lewis

The main criteria used by the participating banks to decide whether an application for a Career Development Loan (CDL) is accepted are as followsThe CDL must be for vocational learning or education that lasts no longer that two years, or three years if it includes one year's practical experience. Applicants must be aged 18 or over and live or intend to learn in Great Britain (i.e. England, Scotland or Wales). Applicants who are not EU nationals or who are not permanent UK residents do not qualify for a CDL if there are any restrictions on their stay in the UK. Applicants must intend to work in the United Kingdom (UK), the European Union (EU) or in Iceland, Norway or Liechtenstein, which are part of the European Economic Area (EEA), on completion of their course. An employee of a CDL registered learning provider is not eligible for a CDL to support a course with that learning provider. Applicants must satisfy the normal checks carried out by the banks as part of their lending decision process. This includes identity checks to prevent money laundering, and credit rating checks.

Mr. Sheerman

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people have applied for career development loans in each year since their introduction; and how many of those applications were successful. [173849]

Mr. Ivan Lewis

My Department carries out periodic checks to monitor the rejection rates of Career Development Loan (CDL) applications by the banks. However, the banks do not retain a historic record of the number of applications. The latest figures from the checks by DfES show that the rejection rate is 30.6 per cent. The attached table shows the number of people whose CDL applications were successful.

Number of career development loans made since their introduction
Calender year Number of loans given Comments
1988 1,503 From start of programme in July 1988
1989 5,441
1990 7,833
1991 9,933
1992 10,739
1993 12,481
1994 15,148
1995 13,348
1996 11,992
1997 11,815
1998 11,935
1999 15,339
2000 18,955
2001 16,247
2002 17,463
2003 16,845
2004 4,870 As at 13 May 2004

Mr. Sheerman

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average value of a career development loan was in each year since their introduction. [173850]

Mr. Ivan Lewis

The following table shows the average loan value for career development loans for each year since their introduction.

Career development loans average loan value since their introduction
Calendar year Average loan value (£)
19881 2,519
1989 2,409
1990 2,496
1991 2,658
1992 2,742
1993 2,889
1994 3,481
1995 3,635
1996 3,596
1997 3,851
1998 3,948
1999 3,863
2000 3,773
2001 4,012
2002 4,344
2003 4,292
20042 3,843
1 From start of programme in July 1988
2 As at 13 May 2004